Katy 14, New Braunfels 6 – final

Before we get to the post-game analysis, John Bordano wanted me to mention that the Unicorns dedicated this game to one of the student trainers Matty Rengstorf. Her mother passed away yesterday, and she was here at Rice Stadium helping out this afternoon.

The key stat of the game is going to be New Braunfels’ two red zone trips and two field goals.

If the Unicorns can capitalize with a touchdown on one of them, they have the lead and all the momentum. Instead, Katy was playing ahead the whole way, and was able to churn clock with its rushing offense.

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Donovonn Young just broke a 21-yard run and that should do it. I’m heading down for interviews.

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New Braunfels goes from joy to despair because of a yellow flag. Simmons scrambled and found Jeremy Garcia open up the middle of the field, and Garcia dived into the end zone for the score. But wait, there’s a holding penalty. It came back and New Braunfels had to punt on 4th and 20.

Katy takes over at its own 24 with 2:51 left. New Braunfels has two timeouts.

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Ross Johnson gets his hand on a throw to the end zone, but he can’t hang on. It wouldn’t have mattered, there was a penalty on the play. It’s declined. 4th-and-10 from the 35. Unicorns are going for it with 3:13 left.

Katy calls a timeout.

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Simmons just barely overthrows Matt Schmid up the middle, about six inches away from Schmid, who was diving to make the grab. It would have been a 30 yard gain. 3rd-and- 10 from the 35.

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Simmons finally breaks a run for an 11-yard gain, his longest of the day. First down to the Katy 35, 3:27 left.

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This Unicorns defense is truly incredible. They just backed Katy up 15 yards with a rush for a loss and sacks by Cody Council and Grant Reber.

After a Karim Osman return, the Unicorns are in Katy territory. At the Tigers 46 with 3:51 left.

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New Braunfels has to punt after a three-and-out. On 3rd-and-2 from its own 44, a pass intended for Matt Schmid is overthrown. Katy is on its own 34 with 6:06 left.

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Katy’s sophomore QB Brooks Haack keeps it for a 1-yard TD and the Tigers increase their lead.

Donovonn Young was the star of that 13-play, seven-minute drive, with 8 carries for 55 yards.

The Unicorns offense hasn’t been on the field for a while, but was playing well in the third quarter. They’ll need greatness to tie this up.

7:49 left.

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Hmmm. On 3rd and 2 from the 44, Katy gets a generous spot on a run to the left side. The ball’s still short of the first down, and the Tigers go for it. What followed was a whole lot of confusion.

There were offsetting penalties on the fourth down play and about three minutes of coaches yelling. On fourth down, Donovann Young gets 12 yards to keep the drive going. 10:41 left, Katy’s at the NB 43.

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The third quarter ends with Katy on its own 40. The play of the drive was one of those bounces that always seems to go to a team like Katy. On third down, receiver Greg Morris tipped a pass in the air. A New Braunfels defender had a chance at an interception and tipped it up again. Morris caught the second tip for a first down.

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So, so close. On third-and-goal from the 10, John Simmons has Ross Johnson open in the end zone. Johnson makes the catch, but he’s ruled out of bounds. The ref got it right, he was out by a foot.

Aaron Hayduk’s 27-yard field goal makes this a one-point game.

1:43 left in the third.

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This Unicorns defense is making play after play. John Bordano just sacked QB Brooks Haack for a 5-yard loss on third-and-long, after the Unicorns stuffed Katy on two straight running plays.

Matt Schmid just returned the punt 50 yards to the Katy 21. The Unicorns are in business and can take the lead.

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New Braunfels gets the biggest offensive gain of the game to start the second half, and it leads to a 32-yard field goal by Aaron Hayduk.

After a nice kickoff return by Karimu Osman to the Unicorns’ 40, John Simmons found Ross Johnson for a short pass. Johnson had a ton of room and blockers, going down the right sideline for a 38-yard gain.

The Unicorns got all the way down to the Katy 5 on the drive, but on third and goal, Katy kicker (yes, he’s only listed as kicker on the roster) Quentin Garrison sacked Simmons for a 10-yard loss.

7:51 left in the third quarter.

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More Unicorn banner jokes to start the second half “Tigers…a team you can believe in.”

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Today’s crowd is 20,690. Rice’s last home game against UTEP drew 10,116.

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A huge fog has engulfed Rice Stadium over halftime. Between the fog and the hits, it’s like we’re watching an old football movie. All that’s missing is leather helmets.

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New Braunfels gets a first down on a Katy roughing the kicker penalty with 10 seconds left, and Matt Schmid gets to the Tigers 35 with one second to go.

An Aaron Hayduk 52-yard field goal attempt is partially blocked to end a great defensive half.

Both defenses are pitching shutouts with Katy’s points coming on a punt return-TD.

Katy has 114 total yards to 84 for the Unicorns, and New Braunfels has six first downs to four for the Tigers.

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The last four minutes have gone like this:

Katy three-and-out.

New Braunfels three-and-out.

Katy three-and-out.

New Braunfels has the ball at its own 31 with 41 seconds left. I wouldn’t try anything crazy if I were Chuck Caniford.

This has been a fantastic, fantastic defensive struggle. SEC football, live from Rice Stadium.

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Another New Braunfels mistake is a momentum killer. Matt Schmid had a great kickoff return down to the Katy 34. But two plays later, Katy’s Kevin Turcios intercepts a John Simmons pass. There must have been a miscommunication on that throw, because there were three red jerseys where the throw went and no New Braunfels receiver within 10 yards.

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Katy strikes first, with a special teams score. Backed up in its own end, New Braunfels had to punt from the 8-yard line.

Sam Holl, a Baylor recruit, took the punt return 42 yards down the left sideline, diving inside the pylon for a TD.

Katy’s up 7-0 with 6:00 left in the first half.

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Another huge New Braunfels turnover keeps this one scoreless. Katy was running it right up the middle play after play, getting into the Unicorns’ red zone. But New Braunfels was able to force a Donovonn Young fumble, and Aaron Hayduk recovered it at the New Braunfels 6.

Still scoreless with 7 minutes left.

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After a New Braunfels punt, Katy takes over at at its own 12. The Tigers switch running backs from Jeffery to Donovonn Young, and it looks to pay off a little.

Young gets 16 yards on three carries before the end of the first quarter.

He had a huge hole on a 10-yard run for a first down. I’m confident I could run for at least five yards through that hole before John Bordano decapitates me.

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The Unicorns take the ball right back. Katy QB Brooks Haack was under heavy pressure and forced a throw that was intercepted by Dustin Oelsen. Unicorns take over at their own 49 and their defense is on a roll.

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Big mistake by New Braunfels. The Unicorns try a halfback pass, and Katy reads it all the way. Jeremy Garcia gets picked off by Channing Pate, and Katy takes over at its own 28. QB John Simmons was double covered on his route.

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The Unicorns offense comes out and punches Katy in the mouth. New Braunfels’ offense has driven down to the Katy 29. It’s gained 47 yards in nine plays, getting four first downs. Katy just called a timeout to regroup.

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The first drive of the game is a great showing by the New Braunfels defense.

On first down, Jeffery gets stuffed by Grant Reber for a four yard loss.

On third down, John Bordano snuffs out a screen pass, and hits Jeffery for a five-yard loss.

After a 60-yard punt, NB takes over at its own 24.

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One New Braunfels player who is out for this game is offensive lineman Coy Chafin, who suffered a knee injury in the third round against PSJA-North. Chafin was a key on the Unicorns’ line, and we’ll see how his absence affects them.

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The banner Katy runs through reads “This ain’t fantasy football,” with fantasy written in blue cursive. Throwing out the Unicorn jokes already.

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Division I guys to look out for are Katy offensive lineman Shep Klinke (committed to Texas A&M) and defensive back Sam Holl (Baylor.) For New Braunfels, it’s John Bordano (SMU).

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Lorne Chan here at a misty Rice Stadium, and an hour before gametime, there are probably more fans here than for a Rice football game.

This is very familiar territory for Katy, the two-time defending Class 5A Division II state champions. In this round, the Tigers beat Smithson Valley 41-19 in 2008 and Madison 66-21 in 2007.

New Braunfels has been here quite a bit too though, making it to the 2007 Class 4A Division I state semifinals. There, the Unicorns ran into Lamar Consildated and a decent running back named Jacquizz Rodgers. It was an incredible game, with Consolidated winning 33-27 in three overtimes.

Katy’s the favorite here tonight, but New Braunfels has been a surprise throughout the playoffs. The key will be whether or not the Unicorns can stop Katy running back Will Jeffery (1,789 yards and 19 TD) like they stopped Brandeis’ Noah Copeland last week.